Chapter 15 #3
“Do you believe him?” Gideon asked.
“I do. I believed his daughter was genuinely frightened, and I don't think her fears were irrational, seeing as her father has a preoccupation with bladed weapons and hated Pennington. But Beecham seemed a very straightforward man.”
“I agree.” Gideon admitted. “I never sensed any deception on his part. Nor an ounce of fear. The man had full confidence in what he was telling us.”
Gideon waved down a hackney cab while Electra held his coat above her head, and when he’d found one, he offered his hand to help her climb inside.
“We need to speak to Mrs. Devlin,” she said once they were seated across from each other. “She was the last person I gave my card to. Perhaps she departed Russell Square and met with Pennington a few hours later?”
“But why give him your card?” Gideon asked. “What was her purported purpose in coming to you?”
Electra still had the lady’s letter in her reticule, but she did not need to dig it out to recall its contents.
“The story was that her husband had intended to make financial provision for her after his death, but his family insisted he had not. She wanted me to determine where he might have hidden monies set aside for her.”
“But you never discovered those details?” he asked.
“No, our sitting was cut short when Cordelia interrupted.”
Gideon hummed thoughtfully.
Electra decided that she needed to tell him the rest. “I did touch Mrs. Devlin, or Mrs. Wilson, as she called herself. I held her hand.”
One of his dark brows winged up. “And?”
“I had a vision of a man I assume was her late husband, who she called Phineas.” Electra looked into his eyes and added, “I saw you with him.”
Gideon eyes widened. “I was with a Mr. Phineas Wilson, if that was his name?”
“Yes. In a wood-paneled room with books lining one wall. I thought it looked like a gentleman’s study.”
“And what occurred?”
“Nothing. I saw you on the threshold and this man, of average height and build with blond hair, stood with his back to you.” There was not even a hint of recognition in Gideon’s eyes. “Do you recall a man named Phineas Wilson? Or Phineas Devlin?”
“I don’t.” He inhaled deeply, then let the breath out slowly. “Your visions,” he started, then paused before adding, “are most often prophetic, are they not? They relate to some event to come.”
“I have had very few of them, but yes. On two occasions, what I saw did come to pass. More or less.” Not for the first time, Electra wished she had some rulebook that divulged how her abilities worked. Were there hard and fast rules?
“But you believe this was some past event, my meeting with Mrs. Devlin’s husband?”
“I cannot be sure. I know only what I saw.” Electra thought back on that meeting with Mrs. Devlin. “And then it was over. Cordelia walked in and Mrs. Devlin was quite adamant that she needed privacy. She all but bolted out the front door.”
Gideon folded his arms and stared at the floor of the carriage, no doubt sifting the details she’d given him. “Since it seems she was pretending to be someone else entirely, might she have met Lady Redmayne previously? As Demeter Devlin?”
“You mean she might have feared Cordelia would recognize her,” Electra said slowly, trying to assemble the whole of it. “But she did glance at Cordelia and there was no recognition, at least on Cordelia’s part.”
Gideon watched out the carriage window. “And on Mrs. Devlin’s part?”
Electra shrugged. “As I said, she left, and she never mentioned knowing Cordelia.”
“But Demeter Devlin was involved with Percival Pennington. As was Lady Redmayne.” He caught her gaze. “She knew Lady Redmayne, Electra. Or knew of her.”
It seemed irrefutable. There was no coincidence, just a circuitous thread that tied them all together somehow. “And she likely gave my card to Percival Pennington a few hours later.”
Gideon nodded, then his jaw tightened. “Pennington is a link between the two ladies, but so are you, via your calling card.”
“You think Demeter Devlin gave it to him?” Electra now thought so too. No other explanation made as much sense. “It had Cordelia’s address on it.”
Gideon leaned forward. “Precisely. Perhaps it served as proof that she had visited Lady Redmayne’s home.”
Electra had felt uneasy from the moment she met Mrs. Devlin. It was odd that even when she held her hands, she saw nothing of the woman’s own memories. Just the hazy vision that included Gideon.
“We need to find Mrs. Devlin,” she said. “If we return to the Regent Square, I could attempt to lay my hands on something of hers, if Mrs. Earnsley would admit us again.”
“I learned something while speaking to Lance Pennington today.”
“Oh?” Electra waited, and Gideon lifted his gaze to hers.
“Eleanor Mahoney and Demeter Devlin are sisters.”
Electra recalled the protective shield Miss Mahoney seemed to don whenever Mrs. Devlin was mentioned and now it fit like a key in a lock.
“Then I think we should go to Charlotte Street first.”
Gideon gave her a long, searching look, as if he had questions he was holding back. “I agree. Let us begin there.”